Pyramids of Mars: Part Three 

The Doctor and Sarah try to destroy Sutekh's rocket but the Osiran's mental powers prove too great for them.

Director:

Paddy Russell

Writers:

Lewis Greifer (by) (as Stephen Harris), Robert Holmes (by) (as Stephen Harris)

Stars:

Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Bernard Archard

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Tom Baker	...	Doctor Who
Elisabeth Sladen	...	Sarah Jane Smith
Bernard Archard	...	Marcus Scarman
Michael Sheard	...	Laurence Scarman
Gabriel Woolf	...	Sutekh
Nick Burnell	...	Mummy
Melvyn Bedford	...	Mummy
Kevin Selway	...	Mummy

Storyline

The mummies have nearly completed the Osiran missile destined for Mars to destroy the force field keeping Sutekh imprisoned. The Doctor and Sarah Jane find a way to deactivate part of the force field allowing them acquire a supply of gelignite from the poacher's storage room. Laurence tries to awaken his brother Marcus but Sutekh is in complete control. Posing as one of the mummies, the Doctor tries to place the explosive at the missile site but its ineffectual again thanks to Sutekh's mental powers. The Doctor decides it's time to visit Sutekh himself to distract him. There is a price to pay however.

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Plot Keywords:

force field | strangulation | 20th century | fourth doctor | magical ring | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode was watched by 9.4 million viewers on its original transmission.

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Goofs

The Doctor chides Sarah Jane for throwing the box with the gelignite, stating that "Sweaty gelignite is highly unstable." Gelignite does not sweat, and is completely stable in the absence of a detonation source.

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Quotes

Doctor Who: [as Sarah finishes up disguising the Doctor as a mummy] Hurry up!
Sarah Jane Smith: I *am* hurrying!
Doctor Who: It doesn't have to be perfect. I shall mingle with the mummies, but I shan't linger.
Sarah Jane Smith: [checks the join between sleeve and hand] Okay, that'll have to do.
Doctor Who: How do I look?
Sarah Jane Smith: It must have been a nasty accident.
Doctor Who: Don't provoke me. Come on.
[as the Doctor turns to the door, Sarah grabs the rifle and ammo]
Doctor Who: And don't forget the rifle.
[Nonplussed, Sarah opens the door for the Doctor-mummy as he is now incapable, and they go out]

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Connections

Featured in Great TV Mistakes (2010)

User Reviews

The Doctor tackles Sutekh, head on.

We get the resolution of a wonderful and memorable cliffhanger. It's another terrific episode, a wonderful mix of legend, sci fi action, and character play. Tom makes The Doctor so alien, his reactions to the poor grief stricken Laurence show he lacks human understanding, Baker is at the top of his game. I enjoyed Michael Sheard's performance very much, no wonder he would return several times.

One of the most noticable things, is that it never looks studio bound, lots of location filming, and fantastic sets of the cottage and house, production values are fantastic, better then most Dr Who episodes I think it's fair to say. Even Sutekh's chamber looks smart.

Favourite scene has to be Tom and Lis in the poacher's shed, the dialogue between the two is so funny.

It's so good, we all get what we wanted, a showdown between The Doctor, and the slider at the heart of the Web, Sutekh. 9/10

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 1975 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Stargroves, East Woodhay, Hampshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1